Faceless
by BelovedSlayer
Summary: A year before moving to Sunnydale, an unknown man haunts Buffy's dreams, one who may help her in dealing with her slaying duty and the aftermath of a messy divorce.
1. In the Shadow

Title: Faceless

TV Show: Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Author: Beloved Slayer

Rating: T

Summary: A year before moving to Sunnydale, an unknown man haunts Buffy's dreams, one who may help her in dealing with her slaying duty and the aftermath of a messy divorce.

Author's Notes: This is slightly inspired by a few dreams I've had over the years, none of which related to the show. The story line takes place the year Buffy was still residing in Los Angeles and discovering her true calling as the Slayer. This was originally planned to be written as a one-shot, but I might add one more chapter. Feedback is appreciated. Enjoy!

Chapter One

Los Angeles, California

Without consideration, she wipes the last traces of blood on the hem of her jeans, her fingers amassed with dirt, copper, and linoleum.

Her parents were not going to be pleased to know that their only daughter had spent yet another night out without their permission; slaying the vampires and demons that had become all too familiar in a life that was spiraling out of control.

Only six months had been spent since she unwillingly became the Chosen One, and to this night, it continued to derail the plans she had made concerning the most important dance in her young life: the prom. She sighs wistfully, frustratingly aware that the night could had been spent shopping for the perfect dress and heels to match the Victorian cameo necklace that had been given to her long ago.

Instead, she had wasted most of the evening on a daunting vampire hunt. A hunt that had come close to smothering her life.

Shaking the thought away, she edges towards the front door, almost on the verge of tears.

_I'm standing on the porch, and I can hear them yelling at each other again. It's never gonna stop, is it? I don't need this. Not now. Not after tonight, dammit. _

She orders herself to reach for the cool brass knob, swerving it to the right as she quietly tiptoed her way inside, her heart thudding on the worry of being caught.

_Time to face the music. Just breathe and everything should be okay. It has to be. _

"Anyone home? Mom? Dad?" she feigned innocence, surveying the outskirts of the empty living room, her breathing coming to a standpoint as she bolted the locks to the door, her back pressing against the oak paneling.

"Buffy, where have you been? You were supposed to be here an hour ago," came the sharp voice of her mother Joyce, as she stood perched against the hall frame, her expression dark.

"I went to see Tyler; that's all, Mom. There's nothing to worry about, so just chill."

"Just chill? I thought we told you to stay away from that boy. He's nothing but trouble. I thought we made ourselves clear," her mother scolded. It was not a moment later when her father, Hank, entered the threshold, his eyebrows knitting together in distress.

_This is just great. Two parental figures coming to see if there's anything wrong. If only they _really _knew what I was up to, _Buffy's mind muted as her father brought his gaze upon her, studying the dried stains that matted her legs and coat.

"Buffy, what's going on?" he inquired. "How did you get those bloodstains? Did you get yourself into another fight? Answer me young lady."

She slumped her shoulders in a tired motion, her eyes averting theirs. "Nothing you would understand. Don't you have anything else better to do? Like get into another argument?" she snapped without precision, wedging between them as she made her way towards the stairs, both parents looking on, appalled.

She stood before her room with low spirits, that same weariness from earlier in the night marring her expression. As soon as she stepped foot inside the perimeter, the tears began to spring forth. Without considering a change in clothing, she plopped onto the unmade bed, the scents of fresh lavender and vanilla enveloping her senses.

"No new dress, no new shoes, stupid bloodstains, parents arguing, dusting vamps all night while almost getting killed; this was so_ not_ what I had asked for," she mewed into the pillow, her chest heaving. Moments later, she sniffled, exhaustion pulling her into its arms as she succumbed into deep unconsciousness, leaving the waking world and its stresses behind.

_She felt a hand tapping gently against her shoulder, causing her to stir in her sleep. "Wake up," a gentle male voice said. She knew at once who the voice belonged to. _

"_Go away. I don't need you," she bristled, cringing into the duvet covers. _

"_Yes, you do. And I'm not going anywhere. Even if it takes forever, I'll be here." _

"_You never listen, do you? Like I said, I don't need you. Or anyone else for that matter," she quivered, but her voice remained firm. Throughout the years of him haunting her dreams, she had never once seen his face. _

_And it terrified her to the bone. He was still unknown to her, yet the intimacy from him had always lingered. _

"_I know you're scared," he ignored her warning. "I know you didn't ask for your life to dramatically change like this." _

"_You still don't know everything. How could you understand what I'm going through when you can't?" she snarled._

"_Because I'm a part of you. Always been since the day you were brought to this world. I've always been there, even if you didn't know it." He saunters across the bed, cautiously taking her hand into his. She didn't move to pull herself away from his warm touch, which was strangely comforting in spite of her wanting him to leave. _

_She basks in silence before opening her mouth to speak. "I'm scared. My parents are still fighting; it's getting worse, and I can't help but feel like it's my fault. I'm just getting used to being the Slayer, and tonight, I almost…" _

_She doesn't face him, because she knew it was useless. His face would always remain in shadow. _

"_I know," his voice was soothing but slightly on edge, his throat tightening at the realization that he had come close to losing her. For what reason, he couldn't explain. _

"_This is only the beginning. You know that right?"_

"_I…I know," she whispered. Her hand supporting his, she rises from the bed, leaning her body gently against his shadowed one, absorbing in the comfort and safety that he provided. _

"_I'm sorry," she continued, her eyes closed. _

"_Don't be," he rebuffed, circling her waist with his arm. "I'm here when you need me. I wouldn't be here if I didn't have faith in you. You'll get through this. You have to. _He's_ coming; you have to be prepared. You have to be ready for what you have to face." _

_A tear falls from a corner of her eye. "I know. I'll find a way." _

_Not another word was spoken between them after that moment._

_ And he takes her further into his arms, both aware that the hardships were not yet over. _

To be continued…


	2. Hello to the Night

Author's Notes: To the readers and anons, thank you guys for the reviews, I'm glad you enjoyed the first chapter. I have to mention that this story is not going to have a direct save the world plot, as this one is more of a reflection of events that happens through Buffy's eyes. That aside, enjoy!

Chapter Two

May 1996

Hemery High

The event that she had planned mercilessly for months on end had come to disastrous ruins on that particular night. In the back of her mind, she no longer cared. A duty had to be performed. Instead of banners, props, and swaying bodies, she saw carnage, death, and ashes. Ashes that once belonged to the opposing forces of the night.

Before her eyes, she saw what was happening: the vampire king and his coterie of undead leaving a trail of chaos among the humans running for their lives, desperately searching for a way to escape from the never ending terror that her enemies were inflicting.

Stake in hand, she dashed her way through the crowd, dusting vampire after vampire left and right, her eyes never looking back to access the destruction.

Only one vampire mattered. And he would soon be given a gift: his death at her hands.

"Everyone, out!" she barked, wiping her stake clean.

Most of the gym had cleared, save for the young woman that stood motionlessly in the center, her heart accelerating against her fevered chest. Ashes and trails of blood clung to the chiffon layers of her dress and heels, her blond hair in disarray while she kept a firm hold of her ashen weapon, as if it were a life that needed to be protected at all costs.

But a fire continued to shimmer in her eyes, and it would not stop until her mission was done. Even if it meant fighting to the death.

"Come out, wherever you are, Lothos." Quickly, she felt a sensation protruding through her skin as her body shivered. She could feel him, sense him nearby. She whirls towards the closed entrance of the gym, her heart threatening to rip itself apart at the sight of the hulking bloodsucker. Unlike most vampires she had encountered, Lothos was beautiful; impossibly so. She felt eyes of deep glacier blue on hers as he tossed his long mane of blond hair aside, his lustrous lips indented by needle point fangs.

Momentarily, she shuts her eyes, bile and desire rising in her throat as her mind recalled the one thing she had never been able to sever: the powerful connection that lingered between them, the way he had always been able to penetrate her dreams and make her lose herself in him.

She feels him taking a step closer, but she crouches away towards the rafters in an attempt to steady herself. "Don't come any closer," she warns with her palm raised. He opens his mouth to speak, but she immediately stops him. "I mean it. Stay away or I'll kill you."

"Do you actually believe that you could do such a thing, Slayer? You didn't before, and you cannot now. You are a part of me as I have always been a part of you. I am your destiny, as you are mine."

_But you are not the man who comforts me in my dreams. You're heartless. You don't love, _she quietly demands.

"Don't I?" he reads her mind, wrapping a pale hand around her throat. Not rough, but gentle, his cool breath tickles against her skin, causing her legs to weaken in a helpless gesture. She was slowly losing herself in the hypnotic gaze of his eyes, noticing nothing else but him. "you don't feel my love for you? All those nights; you and I in bed, Slayer and vampire, making passionate love. You never felt it?"

"I..." she whimpered. She couldn't deny it. And it frightened her to the core.

"This is not over yet, my love," he whispers against her ear before plunging his cold lips against hers, their tongues lashing and colliding. "I will come for you when you are ready." Seconds later, he vanishes, and she is left alone to face the unfathomable consequences that were about to come.

_What have I done? _

BABABABA

Hours later, lost in her thoughts, she trudges towards her room, barely noticing that her mother and father had entered into another argument.

She carelessly tosses her jacket and heels aside, and trots towards her bed, her eyes tinged with tears and blurred mascara.

"_You let him go," the shadowed man accused, purposefully keeping a distance from her. _

"_I couldn't kill him. I couldn't," she warily shrugged her shoulders. Her desire now was only to sleep, not to be confronted by her actions. _

"_Because you didn't want to. I saw the look on your face when he touched you like that. You wanted to lose yourself in him. Again." His jaw clenched, but she didn't notice. _

"_Of course I did. Because he understands what it's like to be a hunter, to be constantly surrounded by darkness," she cried. She doesn't bother to glance at him, preferring to keep her eyes away. "There was always a connection between us; something that never was explained to me since I became the Slayer. I can't shut it off, no matter how much I want to. He's always there, in my dreams, my thoughts, my heart." _

_And she didn't know what to do. She was torn. Because of her actions, the people she had meant to protect would be put in danger once more. When? She couldn't pinpoint. "Well, I came to tell you that you can't dwell on your mistakes for long. Your mother, your father; they're done. And soon, fate will call you to another city. You'll soon be saying goodbye to the City of Angels. And _him_ for that matter," he informed. "And I will see you there. In person." _

_And he disappears, leaving her stunned. _

She suddenly wakes, her face trickling with sweat.

"I guess this is goodbye. Until we meet again. If I want to."

A/N: This was written to be the final chapter for this story, but as soon as I finished typing it, I realized that there was a potential to write a spinoff for it. I might pull that off, including rewriting the interaction that happened between Buffy and Lothos and why he was pursuing her, as I felt that that part was never really addressed in the movie. And of course, if I do write the spinoff, the "shadowed man" will be there as well. I was going to reveal his identity, but I decided to save that and leave it for you guys to figure out. Let me know if you guys would like for me to write a sequel. If I do decide to write it, I will say this: It will have a mature rating.


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